Article July 10, 1926 Issue

We shall have to ask the privilege again of the use of your...

Addington C. Cronk, Committee on Publication for Yorkshire, England,—Bradford

Yorkshire Observer

We shall have to ask the privilege again of the use of your columns in defense of the character of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, against the reiterated unjust charges of your correspondent in a recent issue.

As to the accusation that she thought only of "money making," it was my pleasure to visit the last home of this revered lady at Chestnut Hill, Boston, and I can assure your readers that there was nothing in her home of a pretentious nature. Those who knew her and lived with her can confirm that her manner of living was of the simplest kind, and that her money was given without stint to good objects both in her lifetime and afterwards by her will. Her only desire was to live in obedience to God and for the good of humanity. Nothing in the way of extravagance or mere show had any attraction for her, and repeated requests were made by her to others to abstain from sending her presents. A journalist who knew her through his editorial work in the early eighties wrote to the Chicago newspaper, the Daily Inter-Ocean, on December 28, 1894, as follows: "In every sense she is the recognized head of the Christian Science Church. At the same time it is her most earnest aim to eliminate the element of personality from the faith." Another independent investigator wrote to the Boston Herald on January 7, 1895, "It is her custom to discourage among her followers that sort of personal worship which religious teachers so often receive." (See Pulpit and Press, pp. 37, 43.)

As to the charge against Christian Scientists of lack of love to our neighbor and the taking of "the heart out of all philanthropy," this is not borne out by facts. Christian Scientists are known for their generous response to the needs of others. Heartfelt gratitude from thousands of individuals and admiring public comment have been tendered Christian Science for the ready and magnanimous aid rendered in times of distress and crises. During the war Christian Scientists were untiring in their relief to those who were in want and difficulty, without any discrimination as to creed, and thousands of soldiers gratefully remember the provision of comforts and the clean and uplifting atmosphere of the reading, writing, and rest rooms which the movement provided in the big centers throughout the field of operations at home and abroad. The treasurers of such movements as "Save the Children Fund," et cetera, can tell the tale of the handsome contributions by Christian Science churches and individuals; and in times of national disaster, such as the Japanese earthquake, the Christian Scientists were among the first on the field to supply necessaries to the starving and homeless.

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